Tips for celebrating Take Your Dog to Work Day

Friday, June 21st is Take Your Dog to Work Day! This special day was first celebrated 20 years ago, in 1999, to highlight the fact that dogs make such great companions — and to encourage people to adopt more dogs. And as a manager, it’s important to understand that allowing your employees to bring their dogs to work for a day can be great for engagement, as it shows that you care about their furry friends.

Of course, if you want to let your team to bring their dogs to the office, you’ll need to set some ground rules. Otherwise things might get a bit chaotic and that could impact productivity. Here are some pointers to consider:

Ask if there’s anyone on the team with severe dog allergies or who’s afraid of dogs before deciding to celebrate Take Your Dog to Work Day.

Have employees sign up before bringing their dogs to work so you know how many four-legged team members you’ll have for the day.

Don’t schedule any meetings on the day itself so that employees don’t have to leave their dogs alone during work hours.

Only allow dogs that are properly vaccinated and house trained to be brought into the office.

Ask that all dogs are leashed and wear collars with their names, rabies tags and license numbers.

Make sure that employees keep their dogs with them in their offices or cubicles. If necessary, help them close off their cubicles with baby gates so their pups don’t wander off.

Allow your employees to take their dogs out for a potty break on their normal schedule to avoid any “accidents” inside.

Encourage dog owners to bring toys or chews to keep their dogs busy while they work.

Stock up on healthy treats for dogs — after all, it’s a special day for them!

It’s also a nice idea to organize a fun contest so people can show off how special their dogs are. For example, you could give out a prize for the funniest dog photo or the best tricks or you could hold a dog and owner lookalike contest. For more ideas and inspiration, download this Take Your Dog to Work Day toolkit.